Hero Hunter is on Parental Leave C71

Chapter 71

At the unexpected invitation, Yeongung’s eyes widened.

“A date?”

“Opportunities like today—just the two of us—aren’t exactly common.”

Realistically, once you’re raising a child, having proper alone time isn’t easy. Even a moment of carelessness could lead to injuries or accidents.

Of course, Jaehee was surrounded by awakened adults, and Pepper, the future bonded beast, guarded him closely, which eased some worry—but raising a child still demanded immense devotion. Jaehee was at an age that required constant care and protection, and spending most of the day focused on him was only natural.

Yeongung was endlessly happy spending time with his son. Every time Jaehee smiled brightly at him, it felt like he owned the whole world.

That didn’t mean he failed to understand his Alpha’s feelings. Yeongung, too, missed having time with him—sometimes enough to soak his pillow alone. If even he felt that way, then for someone as extremely dominant as Won Iheun…

Just as Yeongung hesitated—thinking of Jaehee and the cat monster waiting for him—Iheun spoke gently, as if reading his thoughts.

“I miss our son too. But the idiot duo can handle childcare almost as well as professional babysitters now. Just one day—let’s trust them.”

Iheun glanced at Yeongung’s conflicted expression. If they let this chance slip, who knew when another would come?

When Jaehee started sleeping separately? When he entered elementary school? Or when puberty hit and he pushed his dads away? Whenever it happened, it wouldn’t be easy—especially since their son’s ‘Yeongung-attachment’ rivaled Iheun’s own.

More than anything, Iheun had a desperate reason to seize this opportunity.

“Still…” Yeongung began.

Iheun bent his knees and looked up at him from below. Long lashes, a sharp nose that added masculinity to his androgynous face—Yeongung’s gaze got caught. Lifting his eyelids, Iheun put on the Puss-in-Boots eyes and pleaded, using the title Yeongung was weakest against.

“Hyung… just once. Please?”

For someone who usually spoke in stiff, formal honorifics, Iheun suddenly sounded like the boy he used to be—clingy and earnest.

“You… You know I’m weak to that title, don’t you? You’re doing it on purpose. I’m not falling for it.”

“Hyung, I don’t know what you mean.”

Contrary to Yeongung’s expectation, Iheun stayed innocent, tilting his head and smiling softly.

“Ugh… stop it. I told you not to.”

As Yeongung’s face reddened in embarrassment, Iheun brushed his lips under Yeongung’s chin and whispered,

“Hyung. You’ll go on a date with me, right?”

Each time Iheun’s lips moved, something soft grazed Yeongung’s chin and pulled away again. The teasing contact made his heart itch.

Already leaning toward saying yes, Yeongung brought up Pepper as an excuse.

“…Even if we leave Jaehee with those two, what about Pepper? He’s picky, and hunting food together won’t be easy. He doesn’t listen to anyone but his contractor.”

Iheun swallowed back the thought that only Pepper shamelessly clung to his contractor like this.

The stage of hand-feeding was over. Training should have begun by now. Yet Yeongung treated the monster like an ordinary small animal—despite knowing Pepper’s true form wasn’t this small or cute.

Still, considering Pepper’s condition when they’d rescued him, the sympathy was understandable. Even so, he couldn’t let the beast cling to Yeongung forever.

With a quiet internal sigh over yet another Yeongung-clinger, Iheun answered calmly.

“One day will be fine. Sanghui may be rough, but Hamgyeol is good with both people and animals.”

Iheun’s polite but gentle tone slowly lowered Yeongung’s guard. The Alpha pheromones he’d loosened just enough softened the Omega further.

Iheun brought Yeongung’s ringed left hand to his cheek, pressing it there. Then he traced the hollow of Yeongung’s palm with his long middle finger.

“I fed him a special meal beforehand.”

…So that’s why. It really felt like he’d walked straight into a trap.

“Hyung.”

Iheun captured all of Yeongung’s attention.

“Just one day. Look at me. Okay?”

“…Alright.”

The moment Yeongung finally agreed—

The radiant beauty beamed brighter than ever and pulled out a folded slip of paper from inside his jacket.

Yeongung looked at it, confused.

“What’s this?”

When he unfolded it, an address and meeting time were written neatly.

Hunter World Adventure, Olympic-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul

By 1:00 PM

“…An amusement park?”

Hunter World Adventure was one of the largest amusement parks in the country.

With zero dating experience, Yeongung had expected a fancy restaurant followed by a hotel—straight to bed. That had always been their routine when they were partners.

“I thought you’d like it. Do you?”

“It’s unexpected… but not bad.”

Not bad was an understatement.

Yeongung had never attended school. He’d passed equivalency exams, skipped university—so he had no real school memories.

An amusement park. Something he’d quietly envied—field trips, excursions, sketching outings.

His eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“We’ll need to cover our faces well. Amusement parks are packed.”

“You can come comfortably. I’ll handle the details.”

“What? No way. I’ll bring masks and everything for you too. What should we ride first? Save the most thrilling one for last?”

Iheun watched Yeongung’s obvious excitement like he wanted to devour him whole.

He pulled Yeongung into a tight hug from behind, burying his face in the long, pale nape of his neck. That fresh, clean pheromone filled his senses.

For a moment, the mask Iheun had carefully maintained slipped.

“Fuck… I want to lick all of it.”

Fortunately, Yeongung was busy searching rides on his phone.

“Hm? What did you just say?”

Iheun quickly put the mask back on and smiled.

“I said I’m excited too, hyung.”

Reluctantly stepping back, Iheun spoke softly.

“See you tomorrow. Like an ordinary couple, starting their first relationship.”